Nintendo Denies That Wii U Production Will End Soon

The respected Japanese newspaper Nikkeipublished a rumor Wednesday morning that the Nintendo would soon cease Wii U production in preparation of the upcoming Nintendo NX. Nintendo says it’s all nonsense.

Nikkei reports Wii U production will end before the end of 2016. The reasons Nikkei gives are a lack of popularity to previous consoles and the notion that the console won’t be able to stage a comeback. Also, the paper notes that developing games for the Wii U has been difficult for game studios due to the console’s particular nature.

Since it was released in November 2012, the Wii U has sold over 12 million consoles worldwide.

According to Nikkei, the companies that make Wii U parts have already ceased production on some console components. Any development on new Wii U titles, however, will continue and this seems to be a move to reduce the risk of excess Wii U inventory once the NX launches.

But Nintendo is denying the Nikkei article. A Nintendo spokesperson told Japanese site IT Media, “This isn’t an announcement from our company.” The spokesperson added, “From the next quarter and thereafter as well, production [of the Wii U] is scheduled to continue.”

While Nintendo is denying this latest Nikkei report, please remember that the paper has a good track record with Nintendo rumors.

What do you think? Is the Wii U done? Are you ready for the Nintendo NX? Let us know what you think in the comments below.